Linking the Environment and Farming (LEAF) told FPJ it is already doing everything the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) called on Defra to do in a report last week.
The Green, Healthy and Fair report, by the government’s independent sustainability watchdog, told the ministry to: develop an ambitious packaging strategy to follow its waste strategy; introduce a mandatory front-of-pack system of nutrient labelling to eliminate multi-scheme confusion; create a clear agenda to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the food chain by 2020; phase out refrigerant greenhouse gases, HCFCs, by 2015; examine OFT safeguards on fairness in the supply chain; enforce a definition of local food and standard fair-trade systems to bring Fairtrade out of the realm of NGOs; and implement a Green Tractor mark for universal sustainability standards, as well as a water footprint system.
But LEAF’s Jeremy Boxall said a lot of this work is already being done by LEAF at no cost to the taxpayer. “The report’s recommendations completely ignore what is already happening successfully with NGO and industry support,” he said. “We have a meeting arranged already within the next month with [Defra minister] Hilary Benn, and we will be talking to Defra and SDC to see how we can help them, and how they can help us.”
The report also claimed that the 5 A DAY message will not succeed while the aggressive promotion of processed foods makes fresh produce appear expensive and unappealing, and that government cannot successfully combat obesity, waste, climate change or fair-trade issues without harnessing the multiples. Too many supermarket practices are unhealthy, unjust and unsustainable, it said.
Obesity and waste are being fuelled by multi-buy promotions, over-packaging and non-recyclable packaging. And climate change policies aimed at reducing emissions from supermarket operations fail to address transport issues, including goods transportation and the effect of planning laws on customers’ car use.
The SDC identified six areas for government and supermarket action: waste; nutrition and obesity; climate change; fair supply chains; ecosystems; and water.
